


ghost me

by cuubism



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Poor Life Choices, Strangulation, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuubism/pseuds/cuubism
Summary: Magnus prided himself on being able to figure out anything he put his mind to, so several weeks, hundreds of pages of books, and dozens of hours of consultations later here he was, sat in the middle of a modified summoning circle, candles and sigils and incense spread out around him, about to try communicating with a spirit.Well, not just any spirit. One particular spirit.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887421
Comments: 18
Kudos: 95





	ghost me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jensenacklesruinedmylife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jensenacklesruinedmylife/gifts).



> prompt by @jensenacklesruinedmylife on tumblr:
>
>> #49 - You caught me doing something dangerous and flipped out 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁 au or canon verse whatever. malec obviously.

Now this, Magnus thought, was definitely what Catarina would call “poor decision-making.” She’d probably whack him over the head with a rolled-up magazine, too.

Not that that was going to stop Magnus, of course.

The idea had been percolating in his mind for weeks, ever since he and Alec had been called to an out-of-control demon summoning at a house that was _definitely_ haunted. Alec had scoffed at the idea that it was _really_ haunted, but Magnus had taken his hand and shown him how you could feel the restless spirits in the currents of magic in the house. Alec had jumped when one had touched his face.

Magnus had always known that ghosts existed. This was no surprise. But encountering the ghosts had given him an idea he’d never had before.

If one could communicate with ghosts, could one communicate with spirits that had passed on as well?

Thus had begun the project.

Magnus prided himself on being able to figure out anything he put his mind to, so several weeks, hundreds of pages of books, and dozens of hours of consultations later here he was, sat in the middle of a modified summoning circle, candles and sigils and incense spread out around him, about to try communicating with a spirit.

Well, not just any spirit. One particular spirit.

He closed his eyes, resting his hands palms-up on his knees, small flames of magic flickering in them. As he started to recite the words—a difficult mixture of Latin and Chthonic—a cold breeze blew through the loft, snuffing out the candles one by one. He could hear the pages of his books rustling.

_I’m opening a doorway to you,_ Magnus said. _Step through it._

There was a presence in his living room.

Magnus slowly opened his eyes.

Even in the darkness, he could see her, the vague outline of a translucent shape, like she was barely there in the physical realm with him. Magnus swallowed his disappointment that he hadn’t been able to find—

“The one you seek is not here with us, Magnus Bane,” she said. Her voice chilled him to the bone, but he straightened his posture and said—

“Where is _here_?”

“That’s not for the living to know.” She took a step, or rather _floated_ , closer. “Unless you decide to join us.”

“He’s not there,” Magnus repeated, maintaining his position. The circle was impervious to spirits. “Where is he, then? Is there another place?”

“I cannot say. But he is not here. I suggest you look elsewhere.” From closer up, he could see her sharp teeth. “Do not search here again. It is forbidden for the living to commune with spirits who have passed on.”

Magnus blinked in confusion. “Isn’t that what I’m doing with you? Communing?”

She smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “Oh, but I’m no spirit.”

Ah, _shit._

Magnus slowly started summoning his magic, keeping it concealed under his skin so as not to alert the creature. Oh, Cat was going to have a _field day_ with this little escapade.

“You’re not a spirit?” he repeated mildly. “What are you then?”

“Why don’t you find out?” And she rushed into the summoning circle.

Magnus threw up his hands, but she didn’t attack him, just swirled around him at an increasing pace. He could feel her power curled lightly around his throat.

“Why don’t you come join us?” she crooned. “The one you’re searching for may not be here, but you’ve known plenty of loss. You’ll find other friends in our ranks.”

She wasn’t wrong about that. “Maybe another day,” Magnus said.

He wondered if the creature—demon?—herself knew loss. He didn’t know if demons were able to form the emotional connections that would allow for it.

“How about _today_ ,” the demon snarled, and tightened her magic around his neck.

Magnus struggled, but she was powerful—he supposed death did that to you—and he could feel himself rapidly fading. He flailed with his magic, but it seemed to do little against her iron grip.

God, this really had been a moment of extremely poor decision-making. He was never going to hear the end of it if he survived.

He choked and coughed, trying to suck in his last desperate gasps of air as the demon’s grip tightened—

A brilliant flash of light lit up the room, and the demon shrieked, and her hold on him vanished as she disappeared.

“Magnus!” someone was calling from far off. _“Magnus!”_

Magnus opened his eyes to find himself sprawled out on the floor in the middle of the summoning circle, no demon in sight. Alec was crouched over him, looking desperately pale and terrified.

As soon as he saw Magnus was awake, he yanked him up into his arms and crushed him to his chest.

“Are— are you _okay?_ ” Alec was out of breath, he buried a hand in Magnus’s hair, cradling the back of his head— “What the _fuck_ were you _doing!?_ ”

“Did you—” Magnus started, but had to stop to cough into Alec’s shoulder, his voice hoarse— “did you banish the demon?”

_“Demon?_ There was no demon. Magnus, you were—I don’t know, in a trance or something, you were talking to yourself, and when I touched you—”

For the first time, Magnus lifted his head and took in the loft, which looked like a fire had roared through it.

“ _I_ did that?” Magnus said quietly.

“Something did.”

Alec pulled Magnus away from his chest, hands going to either side of his face as he tilted it back and forth, examining him. He still looked panicked, his eyes wide and hands shaking a bit where they touched Magnus’s skin.

Magnus reached out to touch his face. “It’s okay now, darling.”

Alec’s brow creased. “It’s _not_ okay, Magnus. You almost _died._ ” He took Magnus’s hand and lifted it before his face—Magnus was startled to realize that his fingernails, unpainted at the moment, were tinting blue. “You were _suffocating_. What the hell were you even _doing_?”

Magnus looked at the destruction around him. All of this ruin, and frightening Alec, and he hadn’t even accomplished what he’d set out to do. He looked down at his hands. “I was trying to talk to Ragnor.”

Alec’s expression crumpled. “Oh, Magnus.”

Magnus buried his face in his shoulder, and Alec held him tight for a long moment, rubbing his back. His hands were still shaking, which just made Magnus feel worse than before.

Finally, Alec asked, tentative, “Did it… work?”

Magnus shook his head. “No, the demon—or creature, or whatever—that I spoke with said he wasn’t there. Wherever ‘there’ is.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Magnus sighed, and Alec’s hand went back to his hair, running through the strands. Magnus leaned into Alec’s comfort, feeling sorry for himself in a way that he didn’t normally allow. It hurt, knowing he would never see Ragnor again. Knowing he would never quite be able to move past that loss.

Then he froze.

_He’s not here_ , the demon had said. _Look elsewhere_.

Magnus’s heart rate picked up as he tried to think. _Look elsewhere. Look_ elsewhere. _What if she had meant…_

Alec felt him go still. “Magnus?” he said, voice wavering slightly as he clearly thought something was wrong. “Are you okay?”

Magnus was okay. Magnus was so very okay.

“I think…” he started, almost afraid to voice the words in case it would make them impossible, “I think… he’s alive.”

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](cuubism.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
